Keeping a secret
by Renea
Summary: Prequel to introduction. A look at Gin's past, before leaving the rain village... [OC fic, no major pairing]
1. Arata

Ok XDD um... you don't have to have read my fic, Introduction, to understand this... since it happens before XD so yeah... A look at my OC, Gin's life before leaving the rain village.

Actually, here I'm starting from when Gin was about one XD so it's more about he parents, but anyways:

Naruto: Masashi Kishimoto

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"Awwww... Our little Hachiro's all grown up now." The older, dark haired boy said jokingly. His sister nodded.

"Yeah. His first real mission as a chunin!" She ruffled their youngest sibling's dark pink hair playfully. He made a face, and stopped her.

"Neesan, please."

"You're too serious, Hachiro kun." She chided. "Relax."

His brother nodded. "So... What's the mission anyways, little bro?"

"A routine mission to the grass country. Chasing out bandits and whatnot."

"Sheesh, try to contain your excitement." She rolled her eyes.

"I'm staying calm. Isn't that expected of a shinobi? Professionalism?"

"Yeah, but...oh, never mind!"

Hachiro finished saying his goodbyes, and the new, sixteen year old chunin started through the rain, characteristic to Amegakure no sato, towards where the group of ninja he was leaving with had agreed to meet.

A dark green haired man he recognized wave him over, smiling lightly. "Takeshi Sensei," He acknowledged, as he stood next to the jonin who had led his genin team. He surveyed the group of ninja, five chunin, and two jonin, other than Takeshi. They sat, leaned against things, impatiently.

Finally, one of the chunin stood. "Damn it. Arata's late. Again."

"Five bucks says he's running around his house like a maniac trying to pack." A kunoichi commented dryly.

"Hahaha... Like a maniac. Good one."

"That's not funny." Takeshi replied quickly, surprising his student with an unusually sharp tone.

"I'd bet twenty he thinks it's Monday today." The other jonin said, getting to his feet. "Takeshi, you'd better go get him."

He nodded, before taking off through the steady rain. Hachiro, not knowing anyone else particularly well, followed. "Sensei?" He asked, as he caught up with the man, who was walking quickly. "Who's Arata, Sensei?"

"Baikan Arata... He's a friend of mine, Hachiro kun."

"You've never mentioned him before, sensei."

"Hachiro... you see...Arata is..." His voice trailed off, and he suddenly smiled. "Ah, we're here."

Takeshi had stopped in front of a small, average looking house. Hachiro noted that he had probably passed it hundreds of times, going from missions or to the academy. His sensei quickly hopped up the steps outside and knocked on the door curtly.

A small, blue-grey haired woman answered the door, holding a child, perhaps a year old, in her arms. "Miu San," Takeshi started.

She sighed, smiling. "You're here about Arata, I imagine." She turned, and called to what appeared to be an empty living room. "Arata! It's Takeshi!"

There was no movement for a moment, before a tall man, with black hair that fell into his steely grey eyes, ade ridiculously off-balance by the travel backpack, and heavy metal weapon he wore, hopped down the stairs on one foot, trying desperately to pull a sandal on his other, to a chant of: "Damnit,damnit,damnit,damnit,damnit,damnit,damnit,damnit,damnit..."

"**_Arata!_**" His wife whispered harshly, covering their child's ears. "The **_baby!_**"

Arata didn't respond directly, but the word immediately changed to "darn it." Miu rolled her eyes.

Arata stopped at the foot of the stairs, his fight with the sandal at an end. "Sorry buddy," He started, grinning genuinely at Takeshi. "When I woke up, I thought it was Monday or something." Hachiro raised an eyebrow. The jonin was breathing heavily, indicating that he had, in fact, been running around the house like a maniac. He stopped. The child's eyes were locked on him, in what appeared to be fascination...

Takeshi chuckled. "That's what we'd thought. Come on."

Arata started for the door, turning, and giving his wife a hug, and small peck on the cheek. "Bye, honey."

"Arata... Be careful."

"When aren't I?" He said happily. "And Gin chan..." He leaned down to his small daughter's level . "You be a good girl for mommy, while Daddy's out kicking a- "

"**_Arata!_**"

"Oh, right..." He said, sheepishly, catching himself before he finished the sentence. "Anyway... I guess I should be going... I'll be back soon!"

Arata stepped outside, into the rain, and followed Takeshi back to the meeting place. Hachiro lingered a second longer, and as the door closed, caught one last glimpse of two, large grey eyes, staring at him... He shook his head as the door finally shut, and ran to catch up with the two jonin.

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Thanks for reading! XD there's probably some stuff in there that will make sense later n.n;; anyways! thank you! please review, and have a nice day! 


	2. Apperances can be decieving

Uh... yeah. Chapter two n.n;; I wrote this ages ago, but forgot to upload it XDD like anybody cares XDDD anyways... yeah. I'm sorry, It's pretty stupid, and confusing, isn't it:(

Disclaimer: Naruto Belongs to Masashi Kisimoto

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The rain country's weather followed them to the grass country, and a steady rain fell as they walked. By the middle of the first day, the drizzle had become a downpour. The roads washed out, and detours had to be taken, through mountains, mostly. Trudging through the mud for two days left the group weary. Hachiro, however, noticed an unusual amount of fatigue from Arata, who would occasionally fall behind. He seemed like a friendly person, and had been talking with Takeshi almost constantly. In fact, Hachiro noticed something else. Takeshi was the only one who spoke to Arata.

The man's tiredness made sense. The night before, Hachiro had awakened, to see Arata, pacing the mountain cave they had used to escape the storm for the night. Two days of walking with no sleep seemed to be taking a toll on him. He had asked his Sensei why Arata hadn't been able to rest.

"Arata has trouble sleeping sometimes, Hachiro kun."

Hachiro had pressed him for more details, but his sensei had evaded them, and refused each question one way or another.

He watched as every so often, he'd see two jonin ahead, looking back, in Arata's direction, and whispering between themselves. Concern, perhaps? The man looked ready to collapse, and dark circles were forming under his previously bright eyes.

He'd pulled on his sensei's sleeve once more, and asked what the weapon Arata carried was. He'd been slightly fascinated by it, the whole trip. It appeared to be a sickle of some kind, attached to a long chain. A pointed weight hung from the other side of th chain, swinging gently as Arata walked.

"A KusariKama, Hachiro kun... you'd have to actually see him use it. It's quite complicated."

They walked on for what felt like forever, through the cold rain, when the group stopped suddenly. Someone had spotted what they had been looking for. Up ahead, about a fifty metres away, were two bandits.

Hachiro paused. He'd heard something. A chain rattling. His sensei's hand gripped his shoulder, and firmly pulled him a few steps back. Takeshi then discreetly placed himself between his student and the sound.

Arata had his weapon drawn. The other shinobi had instinctively drew away, leaving a fair bit of room around him, where stood in place, shaking slightly, eyes much wider than they should of been, a deranged, almost **_inhuman_** smile pulling at his mouth.

He took off, bolting at his targets as fast as his legs could carry him. Takeshi did his best to block his students view, but Hachiro heard the screams, and could clearly see the outline of Arata, cutting down the two bandits. Then the laughter. A mad, maniacal cackle, that could only express some sick, twisted exhilaration. He could See Takeshi, eyes closed, an expression of forced calm on his face, as he tried to ignore the sound his best friend was making.

And then, it stopped.

Hachiro could see that Arata had fallen to his knees, unmoving. Takeshi motioned for his student to stay where he was, as he silently approached his friend. He watched, as his sensei disappeared into the rain, his silhouette kneeling next to Arata's. After a long moment, both men stood, and the group of ninja, who had all stayed in place, exchanged looks, and continued down the road.

It took a moment for Hachiro to force his shaking limbs to move. Icewater flowed in hie veins as he tried to process what had just happened. How the happy, cheerful man who had been conversing with his sensei moments earlier could so quickly become... well... _Monster _was the only word Hachiro felt would fit.

Takeshi fell back, to walk next to his student, staying on the side of the road, in between the boy, and the bandits's bodies. "Try not to look."he whispered as they passed. Hachiro caught a glimpse of the corpses, and his heart sped. They'd been torn to pieces.

Takeshi put his hand on his quivering student's shoulder. "Hey.. Relax. I don't want you to be frightened of, alright? You're perfectly safe...I promise." Hachiro nodded. It did little to ease his fears, but it did help, a little.

They found another damp little cave to take shelter in for the night, and Hachiro nodded off quickly, thought his nervousness made the sleep light.

"Damn it!"

His's eyes flicked open. Arata. He was up again, pacing, and whispering to himself angrily. He held a wad of bandages to his forearm, that was slowly turning red. Blood rolled down his arm. "Why? Why, damn it! This hurts you too, won't it? Damn it, I **_know _**you can't hear me, but why the hell do you do this to me? **_Damn you_**..." He stood, and quickly darted out of the cave, and into the rainy bamboo grove outside.

Hachiro crawled out of his sleeping bag, and over to his teacher's. "Sensei..." He whispered harshly, shaking his shoulder. Takeshi woke, and sat up. "Sensei... Arata San was up again... he was talking to himself... and bleeding-"

"Damn. It did it again..."

"It, sensei?"

"Hachiro... earlier today...with those bandits... I didn't not want you to see because of the blood, or death. Those are things that come with being a ninja. Things that I know you, as a chunin, are able to deal with. What I didn't want, was for you to think any less of Arata. That...**_thing_**... it's not him. Arata is my best friend, Hachiro kun. He's also a loyal shinobi, and a loving father. What you have to understand, is that Arata... No one's sure why... But ever since I've known him, rarely, during fights, or something similar... It's as though someone else takes over his body for a minute or two. When it's over, he's left disoriented... he honestly doesn't remember doing any of it. Whatever it is... I know it's a separate entity entirely. It refers to him as some one else."

"It talks?"

"It's rarely around long enough to say much. But yes, it does. Another thing... I think it was back when we were genin... Taiki sensei realise that it really isn't any stronger than Arata is. Just bloodthirsty." Hachiro blinked. He always forgot that Taiki, the man who ran the village, and coordinated the shinobi, as a greater village's Kage would, had taught his sensei at some point.

Hachiro sighed. "Unfortunatly, it hates Arata. It likes to hurt him."

"How can it hurt Arata San? They share a body."

"Exactly. It hurts itself. What happened to Arata's arm tonight for example."

"That's stupid."

"**_It's _**far from rational, Hachiro kun."

"No, the whole thing's stupid, Sensei!"

"Hachiro, try to understand-"

"Sensei, the man's insane! You saw what he did to those bandits. How he enjoyed it! He's... He's a**_ monster_**, Sensei." Panic was rising in his chest, now. Never before had he argued with his teacher, but now, the fear drove him to continue, but another cut him off.

"The kid's got a point, you know." The other male jonin, who had woken said.

The kunoichi, also awake, nodded. "We've had it with that guy. What if that was one of us, hm?"

"Well..."

"He should be locked up or something."

"Arata wouldn't..."

"What if he did?"

"You're his friend. _You_ go talk to him"

Takeshi squirmed, before sighing, casting a quick look of firm dissaproval to his fellow ame-nin. "Alright. I'll talk to him. If you all think it's for the best." With that, he stood and strode towards the cave's exit, vanishing into the darkness.

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So... yeah :3 chapter two. Thank you for putting up with my crap-tastic fic XD Please review, and have a nice day. 


	3. Confrontation

Wooo! XDD chapter three! woah, uploading two in one night! Ren's feeling ambitious! XDDDD anyways, yeah. Thank you for reading this:3

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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"Arata," It had taken me a while to find him, but sure enough, there he was pacing a bamboo grove bandages in hand. He'd been muttering to himself, most likely "damn it" again, and was now thoroughly soaked. The rain had only gotten heavier.

His focus snapped to me, upon hearing his name, and he gave a flicker of a smile, before looking back down at his arm, and frowning. "Takeshi. Didn't wake you, did I?"

I shook my head, watching him. "Hachiro Kun did."

"Oh." That usual half amused half confused Arata look on his face. As though he didn't know whether to laugh of frown. "Weird little guy, isn't he?" He seemed to have decided to smile, but it was unusually half hearted, and his attention seemed to be on a nearby puddle, who's surface jumped as the rain fell. "Do you enjoy it?" He asked finally, distracted.

"Enjoy what?" Though I had am idea what he was talking about.

"Teaching genin."

I sighed. "Arata...You know... maybe you should ask again. For a teaching position. They'll probably reconsider, I mean, there'll be a new batch of genin soon. They'll need a sensei. A break from the field would probably do you a lot of good."

"They won't.," He shook his head, chuckling weakly. "You kidding? You know why I didn;t get that job, Takeshi. No one wants to leave their kids with _me. _I'm crazy, remember? I'll kill them all in their sleep-"

"Arata, stop it." I decided to cut him off, before he could go any farther into his sleep-deprived, self destructive speculations. "It'd be good for you. You could spend more time with Miu, you _know_ she keeps you level, and Gin... Rest more? When was he last time you slept?"

He did a little half-yawn."Not since we left the village."

"You see? There you go...When you're tired like this, you know how easy it is for..."

"Yeah." He pushed his bangs from his face, only to have the rain push them back. "Yeah, I know Takeshi." He winced, as examined his other, damaged forearm. I motioned for him to show me, which he reluctantly did. My frown deepened. His left arm had been completely mangled, this time.

"It's getting worse."

"Nah... Same as ever."

"It would have had to be out for quite a while to do all this."

He shook his head emphatically. "No. It's fine, _really._.."

"You shouldn't ignore this, Arata.." We rarely discussed it, let alone argue. But perhaps something could be done. It was only a matter of time before Arata's injuries could, potentially, kill him. "What if you'd died? You're bleeding everywhere..." In the darkness, it had taken me a while to notice the watered down blood pooling along where he'd have been pacing.

Another frantic shake of Arata's head. "I _always_ wake up right away..."

A momentary lapse in judgement, and words I'd heard from the other jonin countless times spilled carelessly into the night air. "What if it'd been one of us? Or Miu, or _Gin?_" He stopped, and dead silence fell between us. I realised I had definitely hit a nerve.

"It won't."

"What if it is?"

Arata opened his mouth to reply, but nothing seemed to come out. He blinked, fighting to keep his eyes open. His shoulders shook sharply, and I recognized it as a bad sign. A _very _bad sign. "Arata... You need some rest..." He wasn't listening, but I took a few cautious steps back.

His eyes were turned towards the ground, before, suddenly, snapping forward to meet mine. In the same moment, his hands, suddenly forgetting the injury, flew to the weapon at his belt, as he bolted forward.

My eyes widened in disbelief. There was no time to move. There was no time to escape.

All I saw were those two cold, silver eyes I had come to know so well. Those eyes that were not my friend's.

And that's all I had time to think before the Kama connected with my skin...

And everything went dark.

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Um... Yeah! So there;'s chapter three.. thank you for reading this! Please review, and have a nice day. :3


	4. Grief

Ok... So yeah. Chapter four XD ( No one's reading this, are they? XDD) anyways, if you are, please enjoy :3

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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"He's taking too long." The Kunoichi broke the silence that had hung in the air since Takeshi sensei had left. The words lingered there, accompanying the light roar of rainfall outside. We were all up, now, and no one had said a word.

Another long awkward stillness crept up between us all, and slowly, the others exchanged meaningful looks, and nods, before getting to their feet. A rather large, rough looking man hauled me to my feet. "Come on. We're all gonna go look for them. That lunatic probably wandered off."

I, reluctantly, followed the group outside, and watched as they all shot off in different directions. I turned, moving in a direction that hadn't been covered yet, frowning, as my feet sank in the mud. Footprints would have long since disappeared in all this muck, so I simply wandered off in the direction I'd chosen.

I glanced over my shoulder, catching a glimpse of the man who had yanked me to my feet, before he disappeared into the bamboo grove entirely. That was the strange thing about Amegakure.

Our village was small. Tiny, even. Only a small number of our Shinobi did the entirety of their shinobi training in the rain village, and only a handful of **_them_** were born here. Takeshi Sensei and myself, for example.

Naturally, a village with such a small military force would be impossible to sustain, or defend. It became necessary to accept shinobi from other villages, who had left for whatever reason. The man who had explained the search, for example, was an ex-inhabitant of the water village. We had quite a few of our "Kirigakure friends"(Such as Arata San's parent) since their country seems to be falling to pieces.

There are several from other villages, too, of course. Strangely, this resulted in an odd situation, that, while interesting, could cause some strange conflicts among our shinobi, when a mission was against their home country, or an ally.

I happen to know that my own grandparents came from Kusagakure, which partially explained my own earth-based jutsu affinity.

I was snapped out of my reverie, as I realised that in the inky blackness of the rainy night, and the seemingly endless rows of identical bamboo shoots, I would soon find myself lost. So, I drew a kunai, and lazily ran it along every few plants, hoping to follow the shallow gashes back to the cave.

I wandered on that way, for quite some time, before a sound caught my attention, and I stopped. It was faint, but I could hear voices, carried out of the darkness by the wind. "Sensei?"

My pace quickened slightly, sloshing through the watery mud. I was used to rain, of course, and mud, certainly. But the loose earth in this bamboo grove was something else entirely.

The sound grew clearer, and though the words remained a confused jumble of sounds, that I couldn't understand, I could begin to recognize my Sensei's voice, that I had come to know so well, since my first days as a genin.

I broke into a run, splashing as quietly as I could through the forming puddles, as the murmur began to change, slowly becoming audible words.

"It won't."

"What if it is?" That was Sensei's voice, I knew it was, and I sped up, seeing movement between the strong green bamboo shoots, and the silhouettes of two men, talking. Arguing? "Arata... You need some rest..." Something clicked. The tone was unlike anything I had heard from Takeshi sensei before. He sounded, uneasy, concerned...Or, for lack of a better word... **_afraid. _**

A glint of metal focussed my mind instantly, as a weapon was draw. Neither Sensei, nor I, had time to react... before Arata struck.

The kama sliced from shoulder, across to his hip, sending a spray of red through the rainy air, blood staining the green of the bamboo plants.

"**_SENSEI!_**" The cry seemed to rip from my throat of it's own accord, as I was overpowered by an unbearable mixture of shock, grief, and the most intense _loathing _I can remember ever to have coursed through my veins.

Arata had stopped, and was standing over my fallen sensei's torn body. The feelings of anger were quickly replaced by another. A sudden, icy, crippling terror seeped into me, stopping me on the spot as though my blood itself had frozen over.

Slowly, _ever _so slowly, Arata had turned to face me. There was something surreally animalistic in his movements, and when his eyes finally met mine, there was no humanity behind them. Only bloodlust, in human form.

A sick, gruesome smile lit his face, and from there, the air itself seemed to become heavy, and, for me, time stood still. I saw every tiny movement, from the way his foot pivoted as he flew towards me, to the angle at which he held the deadly blade in his hand, to the way the chain whipped behind him, tossed by his momentum. He was only a metre away from me then.

My body refused to move. My mind had obviously accepted the inevitable. Something in my heart wrenched, as a thought dawned upon me. It was unthinkable that the last thing I ever saw upon this earth would be those feral silver eyes. The eyes of my teacher's murderer.

Something shining in the darkness streaked across my field of vision, and he was jerked back. A kunai had flown from somewhere off to my left, and had pinned a link of his weapon's chain to a bamboo shoot behind it.

The ex-kirigakure nin I had spoken with earlier appeared between us, as Arata freed his weapon, snarling.

"Heard you shout. Thought something might be up." His tone was gravely, as his eyes flicked over to Takeshi sensei's limp body. The others had undoubtedly heard as well, as they all quickly appeared as well, from between the green shoots.

Arata shot forward at the kunoichi, who ducked a slash, and elbowed him in the chest. He righted himself, spinning and lunging at one of the other jonin, who narrowly avoided a blow from the weighted end of the chain.

The chain struck a bamboo stalk, and whipped around it, binding itself to the shoot. The other rain nin charged, and the thing what was no longer Arata grimaced, and clumsily changed his direction, hoping to escape, abandoning his ensnared weapon.

Only the ex-mist nin stayed behind, as the other's footsteps and shouts faded. Numbly, I fell to my knees, trembling. I'm not sure how long I just sat there, staring at the ground, ans the rain beat down upon my back.

Slowly, and hesitantly, I forced myself to look over at Takeshi Sensei. His inert body was splayed on his back, his head lolling to the side to face me. Blood stained his face, and had dyed a good portion of his hair a deep red. His eyes were still open. Frozen in a look of pure disbelief. It was too much for me to take... Sensei was strong. He had **_always _**seemed strong. To see him this way... The tears fought free of my will to retain them, and I found myself sobbing uncontrollably, trying to keep myself from vomiting.

The older man had simply watched my break down, and, to my relief, was without comment on it. His head turned suddenly, as a sudden anguished cry echoed from the distance. It was not angry, or fearful. Only pained.

"They got him." The man said, voice level, and grave, before starting quickly in the direction they had left in.

Shakily, I got to my feet again. The anger had returned, in an instant. As I looked back at My teacher's remains, my only thought was the degree to which I hated his killer. I loathed that man, and strangely, for some odd, irrational reason, to put my mind at ease, I needed to see him. I needed to **_know_**, to have seen with my own eyes, that Baiken Arata had breathed his last.

When I caught up, the group was standing over Arata's body, a kunai stuck deep in his chest, where his heart would have been. His eyes were only half open, but the craze seemed to be gone from them. It did little to quell the rage I felt for him. If anything, it intensified- that he would have the nerve to look innocent after what he'd done. The others were talking amongst themselves in low voices, that I ignored.

"What do we do now?"

"It's too far to take them back to the village. We bury them here, I guess."

"I've spent some time on the tracker squad. I'll handle the bodies once this rain stops. We can bring the ashes back to the village. Takeshi'd have wanted that."

"And Miu."

I'm not sure why I was compelled to do this, but I was only semi aware of my leg's sudden movements. The group's chatter stoped with the sickening sound made when my foot connected with Arata's face.

"Hachiro-"

I bit my lip, looking back at the body with disgust, and spat. There was a long silence, which I could only handle for so long. I turned on my heel, starting through the darkness the way I had come. "I'll be back at the camp."

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So... there's chapter four XD sorry, I'm bad at writing death-stuff. Anyways Please review, and have a nice day :3 


	5. Bad news

Chapter five... XD yeah, this one;s really short XD Oh well XDD Nobody's reading this XDD ( A major hug to anyone who is XD)

Naruto: Masashi kishimoto

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The jonin finished his explanation, inclining his head at the man seated behind the large oak desk facing him. His face was down turned, covered by his hand, jet-black hair sticking from between his fingers. The room's silence broken only by the steady, ticking of a clock on the wall behind, and the clatter as the other rain nin set the metal object he held down on the desk.

"Oh **_Kami sama_**..."

"We all knew it as going to happen, Taiki Sama. Eventually, something was bound to go wrong."

Taiki remained motionless for a long moment, before reaching up, eyes always hidden, and taking a framed photo off his desk. He stared at the smiling faces of his students, and a younger image of himself. "Takeshi... Arata..." He whispered quietly to himself, reflecting on the photo. Takeshi's mature, contented smile. Arata's wide, cheerful grin. His eyes drifted to the third child featured. "Miu... Has anyone told her yet?" His voice was still low.

"No, Sir." The jonin replied easily, not sharing the other man's grief. "I was about to."

The rain village's leader shook his head slowly. "No... I was their teacher. Let me."

The jonin bowed unenthusiastically. "Yes, sir."

He stood, taking the weapon off his desk in passing, and walking quickly to the open door. He hesitated, taking a step back into his office. "How are Takeshi's students? Have they been told?"

"Yes sir. Two are fine, but that Hachiro boy's in quite a state."

Taiki nodded again, solemnly, before leaving again. "I see. Thank you..."

The door opened quickly after he knocked, and his ex-student's beaming face soon appeared in the doorway. He saw her face fall momentarily, when it was not who she expected. "Taiki Sensei? Um, come in! This is certainly unexpected!" He said nothing, and continued to look at her meaningfully. "Sensei? Sensei, is something the matter?"

The metal he held behind his back clinked as he moved it, slowly transferring it to her hands. She looked down at the Kusari Kama, then back at her teacher, eyes wide. "I'm sorry, Miu." was all he said, eyes downward. No further explanation was needed.

Tears welled in Miu's blue eyes, rolling down her face, as she let her trembling fingers drift over the weapon's polished surface. "Th...thank you..." She was choking back sobs, he could see.

The unmistakable sound of a small child's crying broke the stillness between them, and Miu excused herself in a hushed voice, letting the door close with a soft click behind her.

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Ok! well, thanks for reading, please review, and have a nice day:3 


	6. Catastrophy

Oh my god DX XDD It works! For some reason, it wouldn;t let me update for the longest time n.n Anyways... Next crap tastic chapter XDD

Naruto: Masashi Kishimoto

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"Everyone! Inside!"

Each year, usually around the beginning of fall, the prevailing winds would change, and the rain country's weather would become dry and sunny, the moisture instead going to the other side of the mountains that stretched down from Tsuchi no kuni, giving the desert the vital bit of water it needed.

Generally, this was most of Amegakure no sato's resident's favourite time of year. The flowers were all in bloom, the sun shone almost every day, and the other rainy half of the year ensured that there'd always be water somewhere. The temperature remained mostly the same, but the head became drier, and more agreeable than the usual muggy, humid days while it poured. It was a **_good_** time of year. Most years, anyway.

Unfortunately, as it happened, this year, an unprecedented calamity had found it's way dangerously close to the village, and the weather had suddenly become the last thing on anybody's mind.

The thought of a tailed beast threatening their safety had always been at the back of Taiki's mind, but to actually find himself running frantically through the streets, barking orders for everyone to find shelter, was surreal.

And not just any tailed beast, oh no. The Kyuubi, the nine tailed demon fox... the great grandaddy of all bijuu. And to think... this time a year ago, the coalition formed against Iwagakure had seemed like a big deal.

He could remember how weighty it had felt, gathering up all he could spare of the village's small military force, to send to Kusagakure to help the Waterfall, Leaf, and Sand ninja who had teamed together to hold off, and force back the impending invasion from the Rock Nin, who, for one reason or another, seemed hell bent on getting at the land of fire.

They'd lost a few good ninja in those battles. But it would be nothing compared to the damage that creature would do, if it got any closer. He could actually see it, far off in a valley nearby, it's movements causing the ground to shake.

He continued running, shouting the message to take cover. Cowardly? Perhaps, but necessary? Undoubtedly. There was no way their small village could deal with this. They simply didn't have the numbers for it. Any attempt to drive it off would only result in countless of rain nin, losing their lives in vain.

To his relief, it seemed to be heading east, towards the land of fire, a country that would stand a much greater chance than his own. He had sent a message to their young Yondaime Hokage, a warning, of it's direction, the speed at which it moved, anything that might be helpful. It was all he could do.

Mothers and fathers ran carrying away screaming children, clearly terrified by all the shouting, and commotion.

Running from the opposite direction, also instructing the villagers to get to safety, was another. Clearly, Miu had been out with Gin when they had first been alerted to the danger, as the jonin carried the three year old as she ran. "Sensei!" She shouted breathing heavily, from panic and exertion "This district is clear."

Taiki nodded. "That's it then. Miu, you look after you and Gin now. I'll go see if the others have finished as well." The blue haired Kunoichi nodded, before taking off towards the evacuation area. Usually she would be more hesitant to leave the situation, but her daughter's presence changed things.

Taiki turned back, to give one more look at Miu and he child. As a shinobi learns, intuition is one of their strongest tools, and something just didn't sit right with the village leader. Something had just been...**_wrong. _**

It took a moment, but once he caught it, he couldn't help but wonder how he had missed something so strange. Despite the shaking ground, screaming villagers, and her mother's obvious uneasiness, Gin was quiet.

Miu had often said that she rarely cried, even as a young baby. But given the circumstances, this was just eerie. He could still barely see her, eyes wide, and now that he took the time to look, transfixed on the tailed beast wreaking havoc in the distance, as though in fascination.

He was snapped out of his deliberation suddenly, and darted off as he had said he would, the child's curious behaviour slipping from his mind completely.

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For anyone who cares, Gin's reaction is like... er... I can't call it forshadowing XD It's so far off, it'd be like... Superforeshadowing XDDD anyways... Thank you so much for reading, Please please review, and have a nice day!


	7. Questions

Jumping ahead a few years n.n XDD I'm sorry this is so crappy XD

Naruto: Masashi kishimoto

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"Mommy?"

Miu looked over from the vegetables she was washing for supper out into the hallway. Over by a bookshelf, a certain framed photograph in hand was her now seven year old daughter. "Mommy," She repeated, turning the picture to face her mother. A fairly old photo that had long been ignored, showing herself, a perhaps four month old Gin, and a man, wearing a bright smile that reached his grey eyes, black hair falling in his face. "What happened to Daddy?"

Miu stopped, taking a moment, before setting the kinfe down, and slowly making her way to the child. "Your father passed away, Gin chan," She said gently. "We've talked about this."

She nodded, grey blue hair flopping as she did. "I know... but... what happened?"

Miu began to speak, but found herself faced with a question she had been dreading for six years. It felt wrong to lie to the child, but looking down at those bright grey eyes, Gin just seemed too young to possibly comprehend the circumstances leading to her father's death. Not to mention the consequences that would arise if she **_did_** understand.

Would she be angry at the village for what they'd done to him? Miu hated the thought of giving Gin a tainted view of life in the rain village, and the others around her so early, or at all, for that matter. Miu knew that she herself should have been angry. But oddly, even when she had recovered from the shock of Taiki arriving on her doorstep, her husband's weapon in hand, had she been half as furious as she thought would be normal.

Truth be told, as much as she tried to ignore it, at the very back of her mind, she had known. From the first time she saw that vicious smirk, on his face, and blood on his hands, she had known that it would end the way it did.

Worse still, what if she became angry with Arata? Miu couldn't stand the thought of Gin growing up ashamed of her father. Looking down, she found her daughter looking up at her expectantly. "He... Gin chan, your father was killed on a mission." Not a lie. Simply a half truth.

She would be better off not knowing, Miu assured herself.

"Oh..." Gin's voice was small, and her attention now directed at the photograph, before suddenly meeting her mother's eyes again, intently. "Daddy was a really brave ninja, wasn't he?" She smiled, proudly.

Miu returned the smile, after a short moment of surprise. "He was, Gin chan. He was." That, she knew, was a truth.

"Some days, I think I can almost remember him."

Her mother gave a tiny laugh at her childish naivety. "You were far too young to remember him, Gin chan."

She shook her head. "I only know his face from pictures... and I can't think of his voice, but... it's just a feeling I get."

Miu, again, found herself slightly astonished. "Well... No one's ever **_really_** gone, Gin chan. Sometimes I feel like he's still in the room with me..." She hesitated, bringing a hand to her chin, before beginning down the hallway, towards the basement stairs, indicating that Gin should follow. "I had been going to wait until you were a bit older... But I think now's as good a time as any."

She flicked a light switch, dust circulating, visible in the area around the bulb in the ceiling. Quickly, purposefully, and almost distractedly, Miu moved to a long abandoned cardboard box, the only one not piled under many more boxes. It had been set in a far, seemingly forgotten corner, and the ame kunoichi deftly severed the ties keeping the package closed, and began to sort through it. "It's been a long while since I saw this..." Gin watched her mother pull something from the box, the item catching the dim light. "This was your father's."

The item in question was a weapon, she could tell by the sharpened edges. It was a heavy, pointed mass of metal, curved slightly, attached to a wooden handle. Her eyes followed the chain leading from the end back to the box.

"It's called a Kusari Kama." She explained to the wide eyed seven year old. "Like I said, it belonged to your father. And his before him. So, it's only natural that you inherit it."

Nervously, the child reached out, and took the weapon from her mother's hands. With a loud clatter, it connected with the ground, as she found herself unable to keep it up. "It's**_ heavy_**..." Gin choked, under the strain of trying to lift it.

Miu beamed, in a motherly way. "I suppose we should wait until you're strong enough to lift it before you begin practising with it." For a moment, hair colour aside, it had been like watching Arata, on their first day at the academy. As Gin grew, the resemblance was becoming uncanny. Were it not for the slight differences due to Gin's gender, they might be completely identical in face.

"You start at the academy next year...You won't be able to use that there. But you can certainly practice until you graduate." She rummaged around in the box, before producing several small, differently coloured scrolls. "Your grandfather passed away before your grandmother and father came here." She started. "So there was no one to teach Arata to use that weapon. He learned the basics from these. The rest was intuition, and reacting to the opponent."

Gin nodded. Miu beamed, recognizing her childish 'I vaguely understand what you're talking about' nod. She herded her daughter back up the stairs, as the basement was cold, and dusty.

Somewhere in the pit of Baikan Miu's stomach, a feeling of guilt had begun to set in, remembering the explanation she had given. Again, she reminded herself that it was in Gin's best interest not to know the whole truth.

This was one secret worth keeping.

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Thank you so much for reading this n.n Please review, and Have a nice day:3


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